Wales’ greenest University appears in world rankings
Bangor University has been ranked 18th in the world for its commitment to the ‘green agenda’ according to a global ranking.
Compiled by Universitas Indonesia (UI), the table compares universities’ efforts towards sustainability and environment friendly university management. Bangor University appeared fifth among UK universities in the ‘league table’ and was the only Welsh university to have submitted data for consideration. The 2012 results include universities from the USA, Japan, Europe, Chile and South Africa, from Palestinian universities and those in China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Mexico, and South Africa.
Vice Chancellor Professor John Hughes said “We take immense pride in our environment, community and the region surrounding Bangor University, and we are committed to their protection and enhancement. Our environmental achievements and progress have, for the past two years, earned us a "First Class Honours" degree position in the national University “Green League” and the University successfully attained the highest certification of the prestigious Green Dragon Environmental Standard, developed specifically for organisations in Wales. This ‘League Table’ clearly demonstrates that as a University we are taking our environmental responsibilities very seriously indeed.”
According to the organisers: “It was clear that current criteria being used to rank universities were not giving credit to those that were making efforts to reduce their carbon footprint and thus help combat global climate change. We were aware that a number of top world universities, for example Harvard, Chicago, Copenhagen have been taking steps to manage and improve their sustainability.”
“The aim of this ranking is to provide the result of online survey regarding the current condition and policies related to Green Campus and Sustainability in the Universities all over the world. It is expected that by drawing the attention of university leaders and stake holders, more attention will be given to combating global climate change, energy and water conservation, waste recycling, and green transportation…. We believe that the universities that are leading the way in this regard need to be identifiable and so we have decided to make a start in doing this.”
The information provided by universities are organized under six main categories. The categories, and their weightings: Green Statistics (15%), Energy and Climate Change (21%), Waste management (18%), Water usage (10%), Transportation (18%), and Education (18%).
Publication date: 30 January 2013